The speaker was about to walk to the door to be ready for the outlaw when he should enter, but was stopped by an important suggestion.
He turned, and stooped over the form of his victim, bandanna in hand, for the purpose of gagging him.
But he was prevented from accomplishing his purpose by the quick action of Black-face Ned.
A hoarse cry, loud enough to be heard outside, issued from his lips as Buffalo Bill was in the act of placing the gag.
The door instantly opened, and if the king of scouts had not thrown himself to one side, a bullet would have cut short his career.
A second shot from Pigeon-toed Ike’s pistol went wild, and before he could fire again, a bullet from the revolver, taken from the person of the wounded outlaw, penetrated the brain of the assailant, and he fell dead just beyond the threshold of the door.
After assuring himself that Black-face Ned was secure against escape, the king of scouts hurried from the room.
There might be another outlaw—Bat Wason—to deal with, for it was probable that Wason had been placed as guard over Sybil Hayden and her father.
In the hope that the pistol shots had not been heard in that part of the building where the two prisoners were confined, Buffalo Bill hastened to the hall, and then looked questioningly at one of the two doors that met his eyes.
Before the nearer one he listened for sounds. All was silence within. Stealing softly to the other, he again played the listener. No sound came from the room. He tried the door, and it readily opened. The place was empty, but he saw something that brought a cloud to his brow. In the middle of the room was an opening. There was a trap, and the door, a square, thin block of stone, had been removed, and was lying by the side of the hole.